1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to drain closures for filling and draining a container such as a flexible plastic bag. More particularly, this invention relates to drain closures having a removable cap sealingly engaged within a body member.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exist numerous types of valves operable to allow the filling and drainng of a container. Specific types of valves have been developed for use in conjunction with a bladded type container composed of thin walled plastic. For example, in the medical fields, several valves have been developed for allowing the filling and draining of plastic bag-type containers such as intravenous bags, urinary collection bags, and enema bags. U.S. Pat. No. 3,177,871 discloses one such bag consisting of a disposable sanitary container for radiographic enemas. Obviously, the need for drain closure valves of this character is widespread and not limited to the various medical fields.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,777,490, the disclosure which is hereby incorporated by reference herein discloses one such valve which is particulariy adaptable for use in conjunction with bag-type containers. This valve comprises a body member having an annular cylindrical wall which is adhered to the plastic sheeting or wall of the bag by a radio frequency (RF) sealing or the like. A removable plug is provided for sealingly engaging into the axial hole extending through the body member to tightly seal and, hence, close the valve. Notably, the plug and, correspondingly, the axial hole extending through the body member comprise a large diameter to allow rapid filling and draining of the bag-type container. The wide mouth of the drain closure valve also minimizes the inadvertent spilling of the fluid as it is poured into the container to fill the same.
The aforementioped drain closure valve has been widely accepted throughout the industry, particularly in the medical fields. Unfortunately, a major drawback to the drain closure valve of such design is the difficulty in removing the plug from the body member to allow filling of the container. Specifically, due to the wide mouth of the body member and the resulting side width of the plug, a significant force must be exerted on the plug to disengage its sealing engagement with the body member. Further, since the plug releases quickly when sufficient force is exerted, the body member and the plug are jarred or jerked to such a degree (in the hands of the operator) that the fluid contained in the container tends to spill onto the outside of the container. Obviously, such spillage during the opening of the drain closure valve occurs more frequently depending on the level of fluid in the container in relation to the wide mouth of the drain closure valve. Thus, there exist is a need for a drain closure valve which can be conveniently opened without jarring or jerking the container thereby preventing spillage of the fluid from the container, without reducing the ability of the plug or cap to seal within the body member when closed.
Therefore, it in an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the drain closure art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a drain closure valve having a plug or cap which sealingly engages into a body member to form an airtight seal therewith preventing leakage of a fluid through the axial opening of the body member.
Another object of this invention is to provide a drain closure valve having a capped body member capable of being sealed to the thin wall of a container such as a bag-type container composed of thin walled plastic sheeting or the like.
Another object of this invention is to provide a drain closure valve having a capped body member having a wide mouth opening therethrough, allowing quick filling and draining of the container during use.
Another object of this invention is to provide a capped drain closure valve comprising a cap which threadably and sealingly engages a body member to form an airtight seal therewith in such a manner that the cap may be removed from the body member without excessive force which may otherwise result in jerking or jarring of the drain closure valve and the container thereby minmizing spillage of the fluid from the container during opening.
Another object of this invention is to provide a capped drain closure valve which may be economically manufactured by injection molding techniques to render the drain closure valve "disposable" after use.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.